The Secret Lives (TV series)
''The Secret Lives ''is a Ryanland drama television series that premiered on June 29, 2005 on the WPE Television Network. Despite low ratings in the very early seasons, ratings increased dramatically leading to the renewal of the series and eventually getting it to the ninth season. The series follows a group of women, their husbands and their families and the secrets that they keep. Many critics have called this "Ryanland's answer to Desperate Housewives" which was a popular American drama which aired on the ABC network from 2004-2012. The series is produced by Woman Productions, Kelley Productions and Darveston Entertainment. On April 15, 2011, WPE revealed they had renewed The Secret Lives for a final 24-episode ninth season. The network and producers asked former main cast member Paul Felton to return to the series, however he declined to return because of work commitments. The ninth and final season premiered on June 13, 2012 and will conclude with a 2-hour series finale on February 20, 2013. Cast *Marcia Bennon as Eva Denslow (2005-present) *Emily Thorpe as Kristin Brannon (2005-present) *Rebecca Sterway as Katherine Frances Monroe (2005-present) *Lucy Villton as Beth Rowe (2005-present) *Paul Felton as Daniel Evardson (2005-2008) *Stuart Robinson as Stephen Denslow (2005-present) *Jim McHale as Scott Brannon (2005-2010) *Steven Malberne as Mike Rowe (2005-present) *Izzie Greenwood as Nina Edwards (2008-present) *Renee Penry as Vanessa Mardis (2010-present) *Kristin Beauford as Carrie Clements (2006-2011) *David Carter as Jack Monroe (2011-present) *Olivia Sann as Diana Brannon (2009-2011) *Christian Patrickson as Patrick Rodriguez (2012-present) Production Ideas for the series dated back to May 2004. Writer and Director, Rebecca Kelley began writing draft scripts for a new television series that would "take you onto a journey through other peoples lives, and their secrets." Kelley pitched her idea to the "Big 4" networks; CTV, RTN, ERC and RBC. RBC was the first to decline as they had only just launched, and had recently purchased ABC's future hit series, Desperate Housewives. RTN and ERC later declined in July 2004, with CTV declining in August 2004. After hearing about the ideas, cable network WPE asked Kelley to pitch her idea to them, which they ultimately loved, and picked up the series for a 13-episode first season. 'Casting' WPE began casting for the pilot of The Secret Lives in August 2004. Rebecca Sterway was the first to be cast in the role of Katherine Frances (later Monroe). She was followed by Jim McHale and Emily Thorpe (as Scott Brannon and Kristin Brannon respectively). In November 2004, Marcia Bennon was cast as Eva Porter (later Denslow), who was shortly followed by Stuart Robinson as Stephen Denslow. In December 2004, Lucy Villton and Steven Malberne were reported to have been casted in the roles of Beth Rowe and Mike Rowe, which was later confirmed in January 2005. Following the second season renewal, WPE announced that a new character would be joining the series, with the name Carrie Clements. Kristin Beauford was ultimately given this role. In season 4, Izzie Greenwood joined the series in the recurring role of Nina Edwards, and was promoted to a series regular in season 5, after the exit of Paul Felton. Olivia Dunn joined the series as Emily Thorpe's character Kristin Brannon's sister, Diana Brannon in season 5, who was later upgraded to series regular for season 6. Renee Penry was casted as new resident Vanessa Mardis for season 7, replacing Jim McHale who left the series at the end of season 6. David Carter began playing the character Jack Monroe in late season 7 and joined as a regular in season 8. Christian Patrickson was casted as Patrick Rodriguez for season 9, and the final series regular to join the series. Broadcast The Secret Lives premiered on June 29, 2005 to just 2.14 million viewers and a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The first season ultimately averaged just 1.45 million viewers, being the lowest rated season of the series. After the suprising second season renewal, ratings began to climb an upward trend. The second season premiered to 2.43 million viewers and a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic, and the season 2 finale earned 2.76 million viewers and a 1.1 18-49 rating, with some episodes in the season getting up to 3.5 million. Ratings continued to grow (the third season averaged 3.55 million viewers and the fourth season averaged 3.98 million viewers). The season premiere of the fifth season scored the highest rated and watched episode over with 6.72 million viewers and a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating. The fifth season averaged 5.43 million viewers, becomming the most watched season of the series' history. From that point however, ratings have stopped climbing and started to fall (season 6 average was 4.42, season 7 average was 3.38 and season 8 average was 2.42 million viewers). The ninth and final season premiered to 3.26 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic. DVD releases